New York City Theater

"The Higher Education of Khalid Amir"
Good Works Productions and Howling Moon Cab Company At the Workshop Theater, 312 West 36th St. (Midtown Int. Theatre Festival)

In this satirical piece, playwright Monica Bauer takes us on a dizzying journey through her imaginary (or not so imaginary) world. Bauer throws every type into the mix, a whirl of straights, gays, cross-dressers, Jews, Muslims, Christians.

What does it all mean? The Statue of Liberty has been covered with a burka (the traditional covering of Arab women), launching a cross-country rampage of burka-ed statues. The government sees this as high treason and goes after an innocent Arab, a Denver State history professor. With this premise, “Higher Education” takes off with a series of hilarious scenes and characters.

Under Craig J. George’s facile direction, the story moves non-stop from scene to scene, with Joan Barber, Amir Darvish, Amanda Duarte, Alexander Elisa, John Fico, Norm Golden, and Tyler Hollinger as partners in crime. But particularly worthy of note are Fico as the nutty FBI man and Hollinger as a zany television star.

--Irene Backalenick
July 19, 2008